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Barcelona Catalunya
FP13d 18h
Red Bull has apologised to Max Verstappen after a âterminalâ engine problem forced him to retire from the Monaco Grand Prix, and will fit him with a new power unit in Barcelona as already planned. Team boss Laurent Mekies told media including RacingNews365: âIt is an engine issue, we have identified what the issue is⌠It developed on the formation lap and gave us no chance.â He added: âWe can only apologise to Max,â while saying it is âprobably early daysâ to discuss the fix.
Isack Hadjar said he feared he would finish outside the points at the Monaco Grand Prix because of driveability problems during the race, after taking third place for his first podium since being promoted to Red Bull. Hadjar said: "I faced so many issues in the car that I really thought it was going to be a weekend outside the points. Very early, from I would say lap 12, something like that, I started having driveability issues and it was just undriveable. In Monaco, especially here, it's not like you can allow yourself to skip using first gear, second gear, and this is where the problem was. I was down on power at some point."
Kimi Antonelli said he was âbig timeâ frustrated by the late red flag and standing restart at the Monaco Grand Prix because Lewis Hamilton was alongside him and he feared the Ferrari could beat him to Ste Devote, despite Antonelli going on to win the race. Antonelli said: "Big time I was frustrated, because Lewis was starting next to me this time. Knowing how good they start, I was like, well, I cannot say, I'm going to say a bad word, but I was like, 'Oh man.' But luckily, the start went okay. Also, he had a lot of wheel spin, so that also made my life a little bit easier into Turn 1. But yeah, it was not easy to refocus after the red flag."
Sergio Perez has been handed an FIA reprimand after the Monaco Grand Prix for making a practice start in the wrong place during pre-race reconnaissance laps, PlanetF1.com reports. The stewards said Perez âadmitted that he had made a practice start in the wrong positionâ, while Perez blamed âa miscommunicationâ with Cadillac. The reprimand is his first of the 2026 season and follows a separate post-race time penalty that dropped him from 10th on the road to 15th, costing Cadillac its first F1 point.
Ferrari brake supplier Brembo has pushed back against Charles Leclercâs claim that brake issues contributed to his Monaco Grand Prix crash, saying it is âpremature to draw definitive technical conclusionsâ before the data has been analysed. Leclerc described the braking as inconsistent and âborderline dangerousâ, and said he will switch to Lewis Hamiltonâs brake configuration from the next race in Barcelona to address the problem. Brembo said it does not yet know the cause of the issues and wants telemetry reviewed with Ferrariâs engineers.
Toto Wolff says he has âno doubtâ George Russell will bounce back after dropping out of the points in the Monaco Grand Prix, with Mercedes making a âmistakeâ that led to his late drive-through penalty. Wolff said: "The Montreal race was [Russell's] to win. We let him down. Today, probably, we could have had a podium, if not for the penalty mistake. And I've talked with him yesterday and today â this is a long championship. Luck swings in your direction, and then sometimes it doesn't. I'm not stressed at all for his performances because we know he's one of the best."
Andrea Stella says McLarenâs status as a Mercedes customer team has become a disadvantage in tackling reliability issues, after problems in Canada and Monaco included a gearbox retirement for Lando Norris and a power-unit-related DNF. Stella said: "Never before we felt that being a customer team has put us on the back foot. And when I say this, and I want to be clear here, to avoid any misunderstanding: it's not because you are a lower priority for [Mercedes] HPP. [It is] because you have less opportunities to integrate, to stay on the same timeline when it comes to addressing reliability problems or exploitation of the power unit from a performance point of view... when you are a works team."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the last two rounds in Canada and Monaco have been a âreality checkâ for the team, after it lacked race pace and hit reliability problems including Lando Norrisâ gearbox issue in Canada and a power unit problem in Monaco. Stella said: "There's certainly an important reality check that comes from Canada and Monaco. And the reality check is first of all looking at the facts, we have not been fast enough, I would say especially in terms of race in both Canada and here. We have not been reliable enough and when we look at reliability, we have had issues pretty much in all areas of the car. Today was power unit... but for Lando in Canada it was the gearbox."
George Russell says Kimi Antonelliâs 68-point lead is not too big and he still believes he can win the 2026 Formula 1 title, despite his Mercedes team-mate winning the past five grands prix. Russell said: "No, it's not [too big a point deficit to overcome]. You look at Verstappen last year - but I need to get myself out. I don't know how we keep ending up in the same position. Things I need to improve for sure. But I know on clean weekends what I can do and it's just unfortunate. I still very much believe in myself and know what I can do. I think we're not even 30% of the way through, but there's a lot of points down the drain."
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the team must stay focused and positive after a mixed Monaco Grand Prix in which Lewis Hamilton finished second and Charles Leclerc crashed out amid brake problems. Vasseur said: "We need to keep our focus on ourselves, continue working hard and maximise every opportunity. The mood within the team is positive, the direction is the right one and we have another opportunity in just a few days' time to keep moving forward."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team âclearlyâ made a mistake in failing to serve George Russellâs Monaco Grand Prix pit-lane speeding penalty correctly, a sequence that led to an extra drive-through and left Russell out of the points. Toto Wolff said: "There will have been a dozen pit lane speeding incidents, that's number one. So I can't really give you an answer. As for not serving the stop, clearly our mistake, we need to look at our communication, whether we actually expected him to come in. What I remember is about staying out and not coming in, but nevertheless, you've got to be on it, then to hold him, and we didn't."
Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari âneed more downforceâ and âa lot of workâ to reach Mercedesâ level after finishing second in Monaco. Hamilton said: "I think for me it's really the car. The car is good, but we need more downforce ultimately. With the tyres, with the different scenarios we had out there, I ran out of tyres quite early in the first stint... I think just with all different things that have been thrown at us, it was massively challenging but really grateful for the day... and I've just got to keep working harder to see if I can finally take that next step for them."
Charles Leclerc says he will switch to the same brake specification used by Lewis Hamilton from next weekâs Spanish Grand Prix after a brake issue he says caused his crash at the final corner in Monaco. Charles Leclerc said: "Out of the four brakes, I had three brakes not working. In an F1 car, it's never a good thing. The front left was working well, the front right was half working, and the two rear brakes were not working at all. The only thing I can say is that we have a solution in-house and I'll go to Lewis' configuration from the next race onward which hopefully will be a step."
Lance Stroll said engine braking issues âpushedâ him into the wall in his race-ending crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, after he went straight on at Antony Noghes and hit the barrier. Stroll said: "We were just getting to the end of the race, and then we had some engine braking issues throughout the whole race. All season we've been having engine braking issues, some corners it's pushing, some corners it's pulling, and it's doing different things all the time. So on that particular corner and lap it just pushed me into the wall, like the throttle pedal was 50% open."
Max Verstappen said he was left âprayingâ other cars would avoid him after an engine failure caused his Red Bull to bog down at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix from second on the grid, before he retired at the end of the first lap. Verstappen said: "I had no power, so I was steering left with the friction of the wheels, and I was just praying that everyone would go to the right. But everyone luckily reacted."
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